Sunday, November 4, 2012

Fifty-One Seconds In Death Valley

Today, I will
depart ever so briefly from politics and take a moment to gloat.

Last night my
beloved Alabama Crimson Tide met the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton
Rouge. The stadium, as any rival will
tell you, is known as Death Valley. And
with good reason.

Over its
storied past, news services have long proclaimed Tiger Stadium the most
intimidating venue in college football.
Even famed Alabama Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant confessed, “Baton
Rouge happens to be the worst place in the world for a visiting team. It’s like being inside a drum.”

Tigers
faithful say it’s where visiting teams go to die.

I was at work
while the game was on. I was nervous
about the game because of the intense rivalry and getting alerts on my Smartphone weren't helping erase my anxiety.

My first alert
told me LSU scored a field goal in the first quarter. Not to worry I thought. The second alert let me know that ‘Bama
scored two TDs in the second quarter.
Alright, boys. Way to go!

With 12:58
left in the fourth quarter, LSU scored a touchdown and was leading 17-14.

Knowing how
tough the Tigers are, I got scared. Bear
in mind, I’m at work and can’t watch the game.
I can’t really get a sense of what’s going on. All I knew was that LSU QB Zack Mettenberger
had a 25 of 36 pass completion rate averaging 8.2 yards per throw. He was besting ‘Bama QB A. J. McCarron who
was 14 of 27.

I left work at
11:00 PM. As I drove home, I waited and
waited for another text alert. I finally
pulled up in my driveway, rushed inside and turned on my TV. I was able to catch the final minute of the
game. OMG!

LSU was on the
verge of putting the game away, driving into Alabama territory and forcing Coach
Nick Saban to call his remaining timeout. But Drew Alleman missed a
38-yard field goal, and McCarron took over from there.

He completed
three straight passes to put Alabama in scoring position. With 51 seconds left
in the game, LSU brought a corner blitz and McCarron got the ball away quickly
to T. J. Yeldon. The freshman running back broke one tackle and faked out
another defender, racing to the end zone for the winning score. Talk about a Saturday night stunner in Death
Valley.

There was one
curious thing I was yet to decipher as I stood there watching that final
minute. The cameras on the field were
focusing on McCarron as he sat on the bench with a towel to his face. I wondered what was going on.

“On Saturday
night in Tiger Stadium, the machine didn't function quite so well. Alabama was
minus-two in turnovers, bereft of forward momentum, a team that looked young
and rattled and, well, human. Which is what made the final few minutes, and the
improbable win which emerged from Baton Rouge, an instant classic. Certainly,
there was good execution—a final defensive stop that led to a missed LSU field
goal, a dramatic two-minute drive. But what made it far more memorable was that
Alabama, for the first time all year, felt human. Superman had been punched in
the nose by an adversary just as big, just as strong, and it had drawn blood.”

[SNIP]

“This game
humanized Alabama. LSU exposed weaknesses that the relentless hype machine had
denied. Alabama may still be the best team in the country and may prove it in
Miami, but it doesn't seem like such a foregone conclusion. That isn't all bad.
Seeing Alabama in a different light, with AJ McCarron weeping for joy or Jesse
Williams exulting after an exhausting evening, doesn't somehow make them a
lesser team. It makes them more human, but that only makes them more memorable.”

Please scribble on my walls otherwise how will I know what you think, but please don’t try spamming me or you’ll earn a quick trip to the spam filter where you will remain—cold, frightened and all alone.